Great Gifts don’t have to cost a lot. It is the thought that counts, and the effort to get the right gift for the right person. The iMums have collected together some of our favorite inexpensive gifts under $30. We have gifts priced from $9.99 to $29.99 including a variety of tech accessories, some cool gadgets and some low tech ideas too. Happy shopping!

This post contains affiliate links, if you click on these The iMums may receive a small commission which helps to pay to run this site. Thank you for supporting us by using these links. Some items on this list have been received free of charge for review purposes.

Hop Star : Fun Visual Math Learning Game for Grade 1 to 5 Kids by Skidos Learning is an addictive platform mobile game that requires players to solve many math problems just to keep the game going. I say ‘many’ because the amount of time I spent doing math in Hop Star is at least 10 times more than the amount I spent on the game itself. I admit I’m not good at such games but I refuse to give up until I complete a game. I can’t accept defeat because the game is actually very simple but it is so hard to score points. It’s so much easier solving the math questions. I guess that is the whole purpose of Hop Star!

What we love…

The huge database of questions covering grade 1 – 5 math topics.

What we’d love to see…

Option to pre-select the players’ choice of math topics.

Summary

A fun mobile game that has players spend more time sharpening their math skills than being on the game itself.

Our Rating

The goal of the game is to keep your game character/hopper alive as you guide it across a series of obstacles to get out of the jungle. You tap or hold your finger anywhere on the screen and release it to get your hopper to jump over rivers and different types of dangers while collecting coins. The longer you hold, the further your hopper will jump. You will need to have good estimation, great timing and quick reflexes in order to play well.

A player needs to be alert as there are so many ways your character can get eliminated in this game. You lose a life when the hopper gets hit by trucks, eaten by alligators, struck by falling elephants or just dropped into the rivers but you can revive it with game coins. The only problem is that the number of coins required increases exponentially with each subsequent revival which means that you always run out of coins. But you can also earn coins very quickly by answering math questions.

Here, players can choose the type of math questions they want to do. From grade 1 to 5, there is a huge database of questions covering a comprehensive list of topics like numbers & counting, comparison, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, factors, prime and composite numbers, algebra and place values. Players are tested in 3 question styles – visual, mental and language. While the visual questions help players better understand the math problems and solve them easily, the constant exposure to the same type of questions give kids the confidence to tackle similar questions outside the app. I especially like the leading questions for the game based questions which guide kids to focus on the important information. The questions even feature the game characters to up the cute factor.

This fast-paced game is very addictive and I honestly couldn’t put it down. The gameplay is exciting and fun. I was surprised that my competitive older kids also enjoyed the game even though at first, they found it impossible to advance in the game. The pixel art graphics is bright and colorful. The game is easy to play and the controls are responsive. There are no penalties for wrong answers, only rewards and fun. Unlike many mobile games, there is no need to use real money to buy game coins in Hop Star. Players can play, revive characters and unlock new characters just by doing math.

What interest parents and teachers will be the progress report that lets you track individual child’s progress across different skills and time periods, allowing you to see where they need help and more practice. You will need to register your email address in order to view the reports of all the players. Do note that Hop Star requires an active internet connection for the updating of reports as well as the loading of questions from its large question database.

All kids love to play mobile games. Your kids will be most motivated to do the challenging visual and mental math problems in Hop Star just to be able to stay in their game and have fun. Trust me, they will be spending lots more time sharpening their math skills than being on the game itself!

What we love…

important app to teach the life skill of telling time on both analog and digital skills with an opportunity to earn virtual currency for completing tasks that you can spend or save

What we’d love to see…

multi-player option, calendar feature as well as the ability to set your own schedule

Summary

Overall, this interactive time telling app is one that will teach your kids a very important life skill – the ability to tell time! I liked that it used a variety of clocks (analog and digital) to ensure that time telling skills can be used at any time instead of just with one specific type of clock.

Our Rating

ZCooley Time Ranch by Zcooley AB is a universal app for iOS that teaches people how to read both digital and analog style clocks. Teaching your kids how to tell time is a really important life skill. As we have transitioned from analog clocks to digital – at times I worry that the skill will be lost by the upcoming generation. My son often goes over to my iPhone or device to check and see what time it is – he either clicks the home button or will ask Siri what time it is if there is not a clock handy. ZCooley Time Ranch helps kids practice digital, analog and clock skills both with reading and practice setting the clock. It is designed for kids from late preschool (better with digital) through elementary school. It not only teaches you how to read and set the clock but also gives information like “quarter to”, “half past”. The app includes a practice as well as timed mode. As you complete the levels and earn the in-app currency (not an IAP) you can buy additional animals to take care of a new animal.

To set the clock, you tap on the clock and move the hands forward to the correct time. One of the things I liked here was that you couldn’t accidentally move the hands backward which could be a bit confusing especially for kids just learning how to set the clock. After you complete five clock settings correctly, the day is over. Once you set the time, you hit a thumbs up at the bottom of the clock. If the time is wrong, it asks you if you are sure and if you get it wrong multiple times it brings you back to the start of the level. Each time you complete the time correctly, you feed the animals and collect the in-app coin currency for completing the task. As the task comes closer to being completed the scene changes to nighttime. Then the app brings up a new “note” to be completed the next day. As you gain competence “clock” terms like “half past” are introduced” along with a visual model of what the time should look like. You have a variety of options where you can “show” or “hide” the demonstration clock to help kids with the task. You can turn the background music as well as the sound effects on and off.

I really liked the visual model which showed what the clock time should look like in the easier levels and that it was presented again with new terms like “quarter to”. I remember when I learned to tell time, we used small clocks we held in our hands and moved the hands forward. This is a fun interactive digital twist which encourages kids to participate and understand at the moment if they have gotten the answer right or wrong. The visual cues which also showed AM/PM were helpful for my son to understand the difference between night and day. I also liked the reward system of feeding the animals and collecting the coins to earn more animals to help keep my son motivated and moving forward within the app. He liked that each “day” had a task you could complete and that you could go back to the app to continue working even if you needed a break. The difficultly increases as you complete the 70 missions within the app. The texts are spoken with clear narration which means even non readers could listen to the text along with the visual clock to use the app. I also liked that you could move into practice which would be able to try out without worrying about getting the answer wrong. Another thing I liked was that kids could “earn” coins for taking care of the animals – they could either use them to upgrade the pen or save for a more exotic animal like a lion. We used this to have a conversation about how we could buy a more inexpensive item that might not last or if we should save to get the better item. The graphics were fantastic and I liked the switch between day and night and how it moved if you were setting the clock and changed the time quickly and easily.

In terms of enhancements, it would be nice to have a multi-profile option so that a child didn’t have to restart each time and it could be used potentially in a classroom environment for practice. It would also be great if other things like a calendar or even some sort of a schedule were added. Another feature to add could be labeling the clock – putting the numbers at the correct location. It did seem a bit odd at times to be feeding the animals in the middle of the night when you were completing the task.

There are no in-app purchases. There is a link to another ZCooley app but that is protected with a parental gate which requires you to enter your year of birth before it goes through to iTunes.

Overall, this interactive time telling app is one that will teach your kids a very important life skill – the ability to tell time! I liked that it used a variety of clocks (analog and digital) to ensure that time telling skills can be used at any time instead of just with one specific type of clock.

by Category:Requirements: Compatible with
Size: 0 MB

$

NOTE: A fee was received to expedite this review to the top of our waiting list but this payment has not influenced the objectivity of the review and all opinions have been offered honestly.

What we love…

fun interactive music making app that uses repetition and skill building to help kids successfully complete levels and enhance their musical knowledge as well as build on listening and attention skills.

What we’d love to see…

ability to play the app both in portrait and landscape mode, have the sounds played on the instruments replayed for a second chance to listen

Summary

Beautiful app designed to help kids understand the fundamentals of music in a non stressful way that teaches using a skill building method. My son, who has only had experience to music via listening to it and at school loved this app! He’s looking forward to trying out a real instrument as he gets older. Amazing amount of content included in the app to help children learn music theory making this a comprehensive app.

Our Rating

Mussila – Musical monster adventure by Rosamosi ehf is a universal app for iOS featuring a variety of musical monsters who teach you about the basics of music while on an interactive journey to find their costumes and instruments. As you journey through the different lessons which include: listening to identify a specific instrument, defining rhythms and melodies you are moved up in each lesson. You fly from lesson to lesson for a total of 64 different lessons each of which focuses on a specific concept. If you take too long to answer, the monster gives you a clue and helps you to answer correctly – a timer appears on the lower levels during instrument identification and you can earn new instruments or costumes as you complete the levels successfully. As you complete the levels you can earn stars which help you earn costumes and instruments by being “tested” to see what you have learned in the previous levels. The app targets elementary aged children from about age 6 through 11 using an interactive learning style that shows children how the music is made or what the objective is before giving them more lessons and testing. The app features 12 different instruments each of which is repeated throughout to help children become more familiar with them.

One of my son’s favorite parts of the game was copying the music that was being played and playing it via the on screen piano. He also got quite a bit better at discerning rhythms and the various instruments as he moved up in levels of the app. I was surprised at how quickly he picked up the music and sounds of the instruments – some of which he hadn’t heard before. I also liked that it was progressive and if my son struggled with a specific level he was able to go back and play it over again. The app also saw when he struggled with a specific section like the rhythm and didn’t make him upset that he didn’t know it – he just went back and listened again. He also liked earning costumes and prizes including instruments that he could dress the monsters in. I also liked that you could do a level and then go back to the app without feeling like you had to sit and play with it for hours – it was fun and could be broken down into bite size pieces which encouraged kids to learn in their own fashion.

In terms of enhancements, I do wish the app worked in both portrait and landscape modes just to give kids a bit more space on the screen. During the rhythm section, it would be nice if you could go back and “replay” the rhythm on the instruments just in case you wanted to hear it again. I would also like to see a multi-player option so if you had multiple children they could each have their own customized content.

This is a great app to help introduce kids to music and help them understand the various sounds that instruments make. My son learned a lot in this app and enjoyed listening to the various instruments and working on identifying them as well as playing them during the interactive jam sessions. There are no ads or in-app purchases. It is a fun app for teaching not only music appreciation, but to help with listening skills. Beautiful app designed to help kids understand the fundamentals of music in a non stressful way that teaches using a skill building method. My son, who has only had experience to music via listening to it and at school loved this app! He’s looking forward to trying out a real instrument as he gets older. The app is priced a bit on the higher side $5.99 USD but for the amount of content it provides (65 lessons) it is a bargain! It is not an app that you will pick up and play for a few times, but one that kids will engage with over and over again especially if they are new to learning about music.

by Category:Requirements: Compatible with
Size: 0 MB

$

NOTE: A fee was received to expedite this review to the top of our waiting list but this payment has not influenced the objectivity of the review and all opinions have been offered honestly.

Links

Archives

Archives

As seen in…

The iMums is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to The iMums (amazon.com)

Meet the iMums

The iMums - Amanda, Alison, Mary and Grace - are four mothers from different parts of the world dedicated to informing parents about the best digital stories, educational apps, fun games and technology products available for their children. We also offer the latest news in apps for kids, interesting articles, developer interviews, free apps and regular giveaways! Read more.

Disclosures

Some of the posts on our site may contain affiliate links which help to defray the costs of running the site. These may be affiliate links and a small portion of your purchase will help to support The iMums.

Connect with Us

Blog Subscription

If you never want to miss a post by The iMums, simply subscribe to our blog to receive your daily digest. By signing up for our digest you are confirming that you wish to share your name and email with Feedburner as well as The iMums. Sign up here!